Hello, friends, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus.
This is the second podcast in our Afghanistan series, and today's episode is different. Today, I'm not going to talk about statistics or global persecution trends. Today, I'm going to share my personal story—how God called an ordinary mom from South Carolina into the chaos of the Afghanistan evacuation in August 2021, and how that experience changed my life forever.
Before I dive into my story, I need to give you some context about what happened in Afghanistan in August 2021. Because if you don't understand the crisis, you won't understand how God showed up in the midst of it.
On August 15, 2021—just two weeks before US troops were set to officially withdraw from Afghanistan—Taliban fighters entered the capital city of Kabul and the Afghan government collapsed almost immediately. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and the speed of the Taliban's takeover surprised US officials, allies, and reportedly even the Taliban themselves.
What followed was absolute chaos. Videos circulated showing desperate Afghans chasing and clinging to departing American military planes at the Kabul airport. Tens of thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals rushed to the international airport in Kabul. Many had fought the Taliban or had supported Afghan or NATO forces and feared retaliation, but many more just feared the Taliban and wanted to get out of the country.
On August 26, 2021, an ISIS-K suicide bomber attacked the airport, killing 13 US service members and at least 169 Afghans. It was the deadliest day for the US military in Afghanistan since 2012. By August 31, more than 120,000 people had been evacuated in just a few weeks—but countless others, American citizens and Afghan allies, were left behind.
Friends, this was one of the most chaotic evacuations in modern history. And right in the middle of it, God called Jeff and me to help.
Our journey into Afghanistan began on August 8, 2021, with a video message shown at our church. An Afghan missionary our church supported was housing members of the underground church in his home. They were coming from all over Afghanistan, fleeing as the Taliban advanced across the country. He was asking for help.
Just one week later, on August 15, Kabul fell to the Taliban. Shortly after that, a team from our church began working frantically to get this missionary and his family out of Afghanistan.
Then, on August 24, a former military friend of ours asked if either my husband or I might have some time to help input names of Afghans, who had helped the US military over the past 20 years, into the US State Department website to help with evacuation efforts. I volunteered. I thought maybe I'd help for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks.
Friends, I had no idea what I was signing up for.
I began working with a group called Digital Dunkirk. The name came from the famous World War II evacuation at Dunkirk, where civilian boats helped rescue Allied soldiers from the beaches of France. This modern Digital Dunkirk started when a few veterans were on vacation and suddenly their phones began blowing up with desperate pleas from Afghan friends for help.
They started an ad hoc group and I joined up. We got names and documents of people who needed to get out and started trying to help them get permission to go to the airport, then get through the gates, and finally onto flights out of the country. There are so many harrowing stories from those first few weeks.
Those first few days were absolute chaos. My husband was working with a group at our church to get the missionary family out, and I had been assigned to help a couple of families. But it quickly grew beyond anything I could have imagined.
I was initially assigned to help a former interpreter for USAF Office of Special Investigations who had just gotten married in August. He was an American citizen and had just flown back to the US. His new wife was supposed to follow in a few days—and then her flight was canceled. She was trapped.
My husband and I were on our phones or computers almost 24/7 for those first few weeks. A dear friend even watched our son for a few days. We were passing on information, telling people to go to this airport entrance or that one, telling Afghans which areas of the city were safe, talking to the US government about passports and visas and paperwork.
And then the word spread. Afghans told their friends. Suddenly I went from trying to help two people to trying to help close to 55 Afghans by the end of August. These included American citizens, Legal Permanent Residents with green cards, and people who had worked for the US government and had begun US immigration paperwork. The US government had made promises to these people if they would help us the past 20 years. Now they were desperate because their help made them a huge target for the Taliban.
Some of them came to me through Digital Dunkirk. Others came from friends in the US military who saw my Facebook posts about helping. Congressman Bacon's office sent people to me. Senator Tim Scott's office sent people to me. Our Afghan missionary gave us lists of Christian families who needed help.
And it wasn't just military interpreters. I tried to help a female Supreme Court judge. A Brigadier General in the Afghan military. A man who worked for Google. A female journalist.
In just a few days, huge networks began to form over an app called Signal. These networks were made up of hundreds of veterans, current US military personnel, civilians, people in other US agencies, Christians, and others all trying to help.
Digital Dunkirk changed its name to Task Force Argo and got the backing of a Congressional candidate named Jesse Jensen from Washington state. I also got involved with AFGFree, another ad hoc group started by Perry Blackburn, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and member of the "Horse Soldiers"—the first US boots on the ground in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.
Another group I worked with was Heart of an Ace. All these organizations were doing the same thing: trying to save lives. They helped with food drops for the people I was trying to help. I was on Signal chats with all these groups, coordinating, sharing information, praying together.
Friends, what happened in those weeks was nothing short of miraculous. Complete strangers—veterans, civilians, Christians, people from all walks of life—came together with one mission: to save as many people as we could.
So much of what I did every day for that first year—and honestly, what I'm still doing now in 2025—was to talk to my Afghan families. I encouraged them. I prayed for them. I shared information with them. I made sure all their data was updated in the US State Department system. And when they were running out of food, we coordinated food deliveries. My husband, family and church family were a huge support!
I set up a GiveSendGo page and by the end of 2021, I had raised over $2,400. Since that time, I honestly have no idea how many thousands of dollars have been donated. Our amount is a drop in the bucket compared to the money that US veterans, and others, have taken out of their own pockets to support these families.
Really, I have no idea how to get a good picture of how much private funds have gone into saving Afghan lives over the past few years. But I can tell you this: it's been a lot. And it's been given willingly, sacrificially, by people who saw a need and responded.
The first person I helped, the interpreter’s wife, finally made it out of Afghanistan in late December 2021—via Doha, Qatar—and joined her husband in the United States. His mom made it out later. I can't tell you the joy of that moment. After months of stress and prayer and work, she was safe.
I helped a family of eight from Virginia. The wife and four kids were on vacation in Afghanistan when Kabul fell. Like so many others, they tried over and over again to make it through the airport gates in late August, but were not successful. They went into hiding. Finally, on September 21, they were able to get out and made it home on October 16.
That whole family came to visit our family that Thanksgiving. They spent the night and brought amazing Afghan food with them. We had such a wonderful visit. I tutored the wife with her English every Tuesday evening for quite a while so that she could get her US citizenship and I still talk to them regularly,.
Friends, as of October 2025, I have seen 64 people that I helped make it safely out of Afghanistan to America or elsewhere. Sixty-four lives. Sixty-four stories. Sixty-four Afghans who are now safe and building new lives.
We still support a family in Afghanistan every month, along with a young lady in Pakistan, who has become like a daughter to me. They're not forgotten. They're still waiting. Still hoping. Still trusting that somehow, someday, they'll make it out.
I know there's so much more to this story than I can share in one podcast. There are individual stories that would make you weep. There are moments of God's provision that still give me chills. There are answered prayers that have no explanation except divine intervention.
One of my new friends, who runs a lot of the food distributions, summed up the past few years this way: "It definitely seems like a bad dream some days, but with some of the most rewarding consequences when we get victories. Each and every person here has helped prevent what could've been a genocide by helping with evacuation, processing, sustainment, holding the Taliban and other government accountable, and keeping the story in the public eye. It is truly amazing what this team and all the other people in the evacuation community have accomplished."
Friends, I never thought God would call me to this. I'm just a mom. I'm just a wife. I'm just an ordinary person who loves Jesus and tries to follow where He leads.
But when God opens a door, when He puts people in your path who desperately need help, when He gives you an opportunity to be His hands and feet in a crisis—you say yes. You just say yes.
Here's what I've learned through this journey:
First, God can use anyone. You don't have to be specially trained or uniquely qualified. You just have to be willing.
Second, when you step out in faith, God connects you with the people and resources you need. Those networks I told you about? That wasn't coincidence. That was God orchestrating connections.
Third, the most important thing you can do is be present. My Afghan families don't just need money or logistics help—though they need that too. They need someone who cares. Someone who remembers their names. Someone who asks about their kids. Someone who prays with them.
Fourth, this work is long-term. The crisis didn't end when the evacuation ended. These families still need support. They're still traumatized. They're still adjusting. They're still fighting to bring family members out. This isn't a sprint—it's a marathon.
And fifth—and this is the most important one—God is faithful. When I look back at the past four years, I see His fingerprints everywhere. I see miracles. I see provision. I see protection. I see answered prayers. I see God showing up again and again and again.
So here's my question for you: What is God calling you to do?
Maybe it's not Afghanistan. Maybe it's refugees in your own community. Maybe it's immigrants in your church. Maybe it's supporting missionaries. Maybe it's something completely different.
But I guarantee you this: God has a role for you to play in reaching the nations. The question is, will you say yes?
When I answered the call on August 24, 2021, I thought I was just going to input some names into a website for a few hours. I had no idea it would become a more than four-year commitment. I had no idea I would gain dozens of Afghan friends. I had no idea how much it would change me.
But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Yes, it's been hard. Yes, there have been sleepless nights. Yes, there have been tears. Yes, there have been times when I felt overwhelmed and inadequate.
But I've also seen God work in ways I never imagined. I've been part of saving lives. I've had a front-row seat to miracles. I've built relationships that will last a lifetime. And I've learned what it really means to love my neighbor as myself.
In our next podcast, I'm going to share some specific stories of God's faithfulness with Afghan believers—stories that will encourage your faith and remind you that God is still moving powerfully in Afghanistan.
But for now, I want to leave you with this: Don't wait for the perfect opportunity. Don't wait until you feel qualified. Don't wait until it's convenient.
When God opens a door, walk through it. When He puts someone in your path, help them. When He stirs your heart, respond.
Because you never know—that one yes might change everything. Not just for the people you help, but for you too.
Thank you for letting me share my story with you today. I know it's different from my usual podcasts, but this journey has been such a huge part of my life for the past four years, and I wanted you to know about it.
If you want to help or learn more about the organizations I mentioned, check out the links in the episode description.
Heavenly Father, we lift up Afghanistan to You. You know each person, each story, each heart that needs You. Be with the families still waiting to get out. Bless, protect and grow Your underground church. Please Lord, continue moving in this dark place with the bright light of Jesus Christ! We ask this in His name, amen.
Until next time, keep your eyes on the nations, be ready to say yes when God calls, and remember—He can use anyone who's willing.
You can listen to this in podcast form at spotify.com
NEXT EPISODE: Afghanistan Part 3 - Miraculous Stories of God's Faithfulness with Afghan Believers
Read more on my blog: nations4jesus.blogspot.com
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